MONTEBELLO – Residents fighting a proposed housing and retail project are homing in on what they say are numerous sinkholes around the site as one more reason why the city should scrap the proposed development.

But officials for Alhambra-based developer the Olson Co. say what residents are calling sinkholes are probably just gaps in the ground from previous structures built and later demolished at the site in and around Bluff Road and Washington Boulevard in the south end of town.

Residents are battling the city over its plans for 60 new homes and 7,600 square feet of retail space at Bluff and Washington, less than 200 yards from their homes.

The residents, who have formed the Montebello Action, Justice and Information Committee (MAJIC), are worried that the new development will clog their streets with traffic.

But MAJIC leader Ed Veloz said he also fears the proposed development could pose serious dangers on what he says is unstable ground that is prone to sinkholes.

“They’re putting people’s lives at risk,” he said.

Veloz’s home on Bluff Road is opposite the Rio Hondo channel. He believes erosion of the bluff along the flood control channel has shrunk the amount of ground on the river side of the street as chunks of earth slip off the bluff, he said.

The result is that big holes tend to form along the road next to the bluff, Veloz said.

Last week, city work crews filled with gravel a hole across the street from Veloz’s home that was nearly 6 feet deep, he said.

The sinkholes issue and concerns over increased traffic prompted Veloz to hire a lawyer and to start a petition drive to halt the development.

“If these sinkholes are happening on both sides of the street, they’re probably happening underneath the street, too,” said Veloz, 57. “And this is on earthquake-prone ground. is afraid to do an EIR , because it will shut the project down.”

But Michael Huntley, Montebello’s director of planning, said soil samples taken by a company hired by the Olson Co. found no cause for concern.

“The soil analysis indicated there were no adverse conditions for building on the site,” Huntley said.

“Five bore holes were drilled into the soil there, each one 51.5 feet deep and they found no unstable soil or anticipated liquefaction,” he added. “After the last rains there was some undermining of the soil. Some sloughing off always occurs after a rain. But the Army Corps of Engineers and Los Angeles County have joint power over the bluff-side of the road. The city has tried to work with the Corps to fix it over time.”

Peter Branch of the Olson Co. said the soil samples are an important tool for developers to head off potentially expensive problems during construction.

“We do a history of the site,” Branch said. “What they’re calling sinkholes are probably left over from the demolition of the old hotel that was there … just aberrations in the ground. There used to be a restaurant and swimming pool there, too.”